Youngest Survivor Speaks Out on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Eighty-one-year-old Ilana Kantorowicz Shalem is one of the youngest living Holocaust survivors, a testament to her extraordinary story that has only now begun to be shared with the world. Born on March 20, 1945, in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp just days before its liberation by British forces, Ilana's survival can be attributed to several factors – including her mother's quick thinking and resourcefulness.
In an effort to hide her pregnancy from the harsh realities of life within the camp, Lola Kantorowicz, Ilana's mother, had managed to conceal her condition for months. Starvation and poor health had taken a severe toll on prisoners, many of whom were gaunt and weak, but not pregnant. It was only when Ilana went into labor that the situation became critical – the Russians' advances meant that Bergen-Belsen was in chaos, with death marching on its doorstep.
Ilana's birth marked an extraordinary turn of events in her family's story, one that would change their lives forever. After being born nearly a month before liberation, the young girl spent time in Auschwitz and then completed a grueling death march to Bergen-Belsen alongside her mother. "If they discovered she was pregnant," Ilana recalled, "they would have killed her." Her mother had to carefully conceal this information from fellow inmates, as sharing it could have put her at risk of being targeted.
Ilana's story takes on added poignancy in the face of growing global antisemitism. As Israel and Hamas fought a bitter war in Gaza, many are once again turning against Jewish communities worldwide. In contrast, Ilana's family endured unimaginable hardship under Nazi rule – meeting as teenagers in a Polish ghetto, where they went through years of arduous labor before eventually losing each other.
In 1945, the couple's hopes were crushed when Hersh passed away just days before the war ended. Meanwhile, Lola spent time in Auschwitz and finally made it to Bergen-Belsen while pregnant, with Ilana being born on March 20. Her mother never married again nor had additional children. In fact, Ilana has spoken little of her childhood years up until recently when she completed a genealogy course at Yad Vashem, gaining insight into how there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors left to share their story.
Today, Shalem works as a social worker while struggling with the reality that such remarkable individuals are dwindling fast. As a result, many are turning their attention towards commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, an anniversary marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – the notorious death camp where over one million people were brutally killed.
With approximately 196,600 survivors still alive and half of them residing in Israel, there is a growing urgency to document these last few remaining stories. Many like Ilana have gone unrecorded due to either fear or reluctance to share their accounts with an often insensitive world. It's only through the voices and testimonies that are being unearthed today that such atrocities can begin to be understood by future generations.
In recognition of this dire situation, The Associated Press has taken on a responsibility to honor these survivors' stories as well as help preserve history for what will undoubtedly become a critical time in human history.
Eighty-one-year-old Ilana Kantorowicz Shalem is one of the youngest living Holocaust survivors, a testament to her extraordinary story that has only now begun to be shared with the world. Born on March 20, 1945, in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp just days before its liberation by British forces, Ilana's survival can be attributed to several factors – including her mother's quick thinking and resourcefulness.
In an effort to hide her pregnancy from the harsh realities of life within the camp, Lola Kantorowicz, Ilana's mother, had managed to conceal her condition for months. Starvation and poor health had taken a severe toll on prisoners, many of whom were gaunt and weak, but not pregnant. It was only when Ilana went into labor that the situation became critical – the Russians' advances meant that Bergen-Belsen was in chaos, with death marching on its doorstep.
Ilana's birth marked an extraordinary turn of events in her family's story, one that would change their lives forever. After being born nearly a month before liberation, the young girl spent time in Auschwitz and then completed a grueling death march to Bergen-Belsen alongside her mother. "If they discovered she was pregnant," Ilana recalled, "they would have killed her." Her mother had to carefully conceal this information from fellow inmates, as sharing it could have put her at risk of being targeted.
Ilana's story takes on added poignancy in the face of growing global antisemitism. As Israel and Hamas fought a bitter war in Gaza, many are once again turning against Jewish communities worldwide. In contrast, Ilana's family endured unimaginable hardship under Nazi rule – meeting as teenagers in a Polish ghetto, where they went through years of arduous labor before eventually losing each other.
In 1945, the couple's hopes were crushed when Hersh passed away just days before the war ended. Meanwhile, Lola spent time in Auschwitz and finally made it to Bergen-Belsen while pregnant, with Ilana being born on March 20. Her mother never married again nor had additional children. In fact, Ilana has spoken little of her childhood years up until recently when she completed a genealogy course at Yad Vashem, gaining insight into how there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors left to share their story.
Today, Shalem works as a social worker while struggling with the reality that such remarkable individuals are dwindling fast. As a result, many are turning their attention towards commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, an anniversary marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – the notorious death camp where over one million people were brutally killed.
With approximately 196,600 survivors still alive and half of them residing in Israel, there is a growing urgency to document these last few remaining stories. Many like Ilana have gone unrecorded due to either fear or reluctance to share their accounts with an often insensitive world. It's only through the voices and testimonies that are being unearthed today that such atrocities can begin to be understood by future generations.
In recognition of this dire situation, The Associated Press has taken on a responsibility to honor these survivors' stories as well as help preserve history for what will undoubtedly become a critical time in human history.
I think its time we focus more on supporting our elderly survivors rather than just commemorating their experiences on International Holocaust Remembrance Day every year... 
We need to make sure they're being taken care of, financially and emotionally, as the number of living survivors is dwindling fast. Its a shame that Ilana had to go through so much in her young life, and its heartbreaking to think about how many more stories like hers are going unrecorded... 
it's like something out of a movie, but unfortunately, it's real life 
Her mom had to keep her pregnancy a secret from everyone just so she wouldn't get killed... and then she had to go through all that trauma with the Russian advances and the death marches 
It's like, what even is the point of us learning about this if we're not gonna do something to stop it from happening again?! 
I mean, we've got global antisemitism on the rise and people are already turning against Jewish communities... but we need to remember these stories, like Ilana's, so that future generations don't make the same mistakes 
I'm so emotional thinking about Ilana's story 
. The fact that her birth was a result of her mom's quick thinking to hide her pregnancy is just mind-blowing 
.
.
ilana's story is like a miracle she was born just days before her camp got liberated and her mom had to hide it from the others cuz they would've killed her 
... like, her mom had to hide her pregnancy from the Nazis because they'd kill her if they found out 
.
. And Ilana's mom had to hide her pregnancy like, what would she do if she wasn't able to? It must've been so hard for her 
.
I wish more people would take the time to listen to these stories and truly understand what happened during WWII - it's not just a historical event, but a personal experience for so many families. We need to be grateful that we have people like Ilana who are still willing to share their experiences with us... 
meanwhile, antisemitism is on the rise again it's heartbreaking to see young people turning against jewish communities worldwide 
what if they had discovered she was pregnant?